England together with Wales have been drawn in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a highly-anticipated early clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw mirrors their infamous clash in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's shock early exit.
Key Group Pairings
The Irish alongside the Scots also share a pool together, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, Ireland secured a 36-14 win, with Scotland unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as underdogs in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and world number one South Africa until the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans win their own group.
Knockout Implications
Should the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from the likes of England and the Irish all the way to the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on that half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Major Opener
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee fixture designed to jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
This edition will feature a last-16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will play a team that finished third from the pool stages.
Rugby World Cup 2027 Groups
Pool A
- New Zealand
- Australia
- Chile
- Hong Kong
Pool B
- South Africa
- Italy
- Georgia
- Romania
Pool C
- Argentina
- Fiji
- Spain
- Canada
Pool D
- Ireland
- Scotland
- Uruguay
- Portugal
Pool E
- France
- Japan
- USA
- Samoa
Pool F
- England
- Wales
- Tonga
- Zimbabwe
